Strategic management in universities: an empirical study with deans/ Gestao estrategica em universidades: um estudo empirico com reitores

The Brazilian Universities are facing sweeping changes due to the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) to implement institutional documents to support the formulation of their respective management models. These documents are respectively the Institutional Development Project (IDP), the Institutional Educational Project (IPP) and the dimensions of the National Superior Education Evaluation (SINAES). However, despite this effort from the government, there is a lack of research on the management model adopted by Brazilian Universities. In order to comprehend the configuration of these models, this research was conducted through an exploratory study that relied on data collection techniques based on semi-structured interviews with eight deans, followed by the content analysis (SOUZA, 2007). The research results show that a large majority of universities tends to adopt the model of strategic management with greater sharing of objectives and participation of all members of the organization in the strategy formation, due to the institutional pressures from the MEC which is detached from the traditional focus on strategic planning, in which prevails the separation between those who only plan on those who only implement the strategy.